“Netanyahu’s conduct may amount to offenses of fraud and breach of trust and lead to the invalidation of the appointment”
The Movement for Quality Government sent a letter of ‘exhaustion of proceedings’ today, Friday 23 May, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, government ministers and the government secretary, demanding that they refrain from approving the appointment of Maj.- Gen. David Zini as head of the Shin Bet. In the letter, the Movement warns that this appointment was made in complete violation of the High Court ruling from two days ago and the instructions of the attorney general regarding Netanyahu’s conflict of interest.
The letter emphasizes that just two days ago, the Supreme Court ruled unequivocally that the prime minister has a serious conflict of interest with regard to the issue of the head of the Shin Bet, and that “his mere participation in the discussion and the vote invalidates the decision.”
The Movement cites the court’s clear rulings: “The government is not authorized and is not permitted to act contrary to the law,” and that ignoring the attorney general’s opinion “is not consistent with the rules of good governance and with the government’s obligation to maintain proper administrative process in accordance with the principles of the rule of law.”
The letter emphasizes that, similar to the invalid decision to dismiss the Shin Bet chief, the new appointment was also made in complete disregard of the instructions of the attorney general, who explicitly ordered the prime minister to refrain from appointing a new Shin Bet head until the legal review of the matter is complete. In addition, the advisory committee for senior appointments, whose approval is required for such an appointment, has not yet been fully staffed and cannot convene.
The Movement warns that “Prime Minister Netanyahu’s conduct and his conflict of interest in appointing the next head of the Shin Bet, may even amount to the offense of fraud and breach of trust, and may lead to serious harm to both public trust and national security, the importance of which cannot be overstated, in normal times and even more so at a time of war.”
Adv. Rotem Bavli Dvir, head of the legal department of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel: “The prime minister is acting as if High Court rulings are merely recommendations. This is an unprecedented defiance of the rule of law. The court explicitly stated that he is in a serious conflict of interest and that any involvement on his part in the matter of the Shin Bet head invalidates the decision. The rule of law cannot be allowed to become a mere recommendation, and a prime minister who is in a conflict of interest cannot appoint the head of the service that investigates his associates.”
read the letter
האיסור על מינוי ראש שבכ חדש לאור פסיקת בגץ והנחיית היועצת המשפטית לממשלה בנדון נכון לעת הזו – 23.5.202
